


Making Their Own Luck

by Settiai



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, The Black Emporium Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-08
Updated: 2016-10-08
Packaged: 2018-08-17 08:57:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8138131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Settiai/pseuds/Settiai
Summary: "Templars are coming," Anders said, cutting Bethany off.  "We need to leave now."





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TimeSorceror](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TimeSorceror/gifts).



Anders moved as quickly as he could through Lowtown, trying his level best to resist the urge to break into a sprint. As much as he might want to go faster, the last thing he needed was to draw more attention to himself. Especially since, for all he knew, he was already too late.

He checked as he went around a corner and saw a group of templars standing there, Knight-Captain Cullen in their center. None of them seemed to be paying any attention to him, and Anders quickly spun on his heels and went back the way he had come.

Damn it. A part of him had hoped that his contact in the Gallows had been wrong, but there were only a few reasons for that many templars to be in Lowtown – none of them good.

Justice grumbled in the back of his head, clearly dissatisfied that Anders had turned and run at the sight of the templars. Anders ignored him, well aware that Justice knew very well that trying to fight that many templars single-handedly would be suicide. He might complain about it, but Justice wasn't truly upset that he hadn't gone and gotten himself killed.

It wouldn't be just, after all.

Anders slipped around a stall, obviously set up by a hopeful merchant who didn't want to pay the fees to sell in the market proper and instead was trying to turn at least a small profit before the guards noticed. It was piled high with cloth and clothing, include several cloaks that were within his reach.

A quick glance over his shoulder showed that the merchant was distracted by a potential customer, and without even a moment's hesitation Anders grabbed the first cloak he could get his hands on and kept on walking. He tensed slightly, ready to run if he heard the sound of shouting behind him, but after several strides without any reaction behind him he relaxed slightly.

Well, as much as he could, all things considered.

Justice gave another rumble of displeasure, but Anders rolled his eyes. _I'll give it back later_ , he promised, even though he knew the spirit could see straight through the lie. _For now, we might need it._

The feeling of disapproval didn't disappear, per se, but it did fade at least a little. Anders would take what he could get.

Gamlen Amell's home looked perfectly normal from the outside as Anders hurried around a corner and finally had it in his sights. He did a quick look around, trying to see if he saw any sign of templars, but nothing out of the ordinary caught his attention. He just hoped he wasn't too late.

Anders hurried up the stairs to the home, pounding on the door. He looked around again as he did. The templars couldn't be far behind him, not if the group he'd seen earlier were heading here like he suspected they were.

The door jerked open. Bethany was standing there, a heavy-looking pan held in her hands. Her mother was standing behind her, her face almost grey with worry.

"Oh, thank the Maker." The words slipped out of his mouth before he even knew he was saying them. He hadn't realized just how worried he had been that he'd be too late until that moment.

Bethany's eyes widened with recognition as she saw that it was him, the pan dropping to her side. "Anders?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. "What are you—"

"Templars are coming," he said, cutting her off. "We need to leave now."

Leandra Amell gasped, her hand coming up to rest on her chest. Bethany, for her credit, didn't panic. Her eyes went wide, but she merely nodded in understanding. "Give me just a moment to grab my staff."

Anders glanced over his shoulder. Still no sign of the templars. "You have thirty seconds."

"I only need twenty," Bethany said matter-of-factly, slipping past her mother and disappearing into the back room that the two of them shared.

To her credit, Leandra seemed to be recovering from her shock quickly. Anders supposed she'd had lots of practice, with two mages in her family. "What should I tell them?" she asked, her voice shaking only a little.

Anders opened his mouth to reply, but he didn't have a chance to say anything before Bethany reappeared through the door, a small pack slung over her arm and her staff on her back. She pressed a quick kiss to her mother's cheek. "Tell them that I ran away in the night and went after Garrett," she said. "It should at least buy me some time."

Leandra nodded. "Be careful, sweetheart."

"Always," Bethany said with a tired smile.

Then she turned to Anders and raised an eyebrow. "I assume you have a plan?"

Anders shoved the cloak that he'd stolen at her. "Put this on," he said. "Then follow me."

*

He'd made it to the Hawke home with less than five minutes to spare. They'd heard the sound of shouting behind them as they'd disappeared into the midday crowd of Lowtown, and for a moment Anders had almost panicked. If it hadn't been for Bethany grabbing his hand and holding it tight, there was a good chance he – or, at least, Justice – would have given them away.

The shouting hadn't been aimed at them, though, he'd realized a moment later. It had been more general, presumably aimed at the closed door of the hovel they'd just left.

"Where are we going?" Bethany asked quietly, her hand still in his.

"My clinic, for now," he replied.

Anders glanced over his shoulder, partly to make certain that no one was following them and partly to be certain that the misdirection spell on their staffs was working. No one seemed to be paying any attention to them, which seemed to imply that they weren't noticing the rather obvious staffs they were carrying.

Bethany was quiet for a long moment as they slipped down the stairs that led toward Darktown. "How did you know they were coming for me?"

Anders hesitated, not quite certain he wanted to bring up the Mage Underground just yet. Hawke might kill him, for one, if he were to get his little sister involved with it. And if he knew Bethany, she'd want to be involved if he told her.

"Anders," she said, narrowing her eyes. "How did you know?"

Of course, he'd also forgotten that she was almost as good as her brother when it came to knowing when someone was keeping secrets from her.

"It's a long story," he said. "Let's just say I have a friend in the Gallows who heard some rumors."

Bethany shot him a look that made it very clear that, no matter how much he might wish otherwise, their discussion of the matter wasn't over. She didn't press for more details, though, at least not just then. That was something, at least.

They continued in silence for the next few minutes, neither of them quite ready to continue the conversation. It wasn't quite uncomfortable, not like it would have been if it had been someone like Fenris walking with him, but there was an awkwardness to it that Anders wasn't used to feeling around either of the Hawke siblings.

"Thank you," Bethany said quietly.

Anders glanced at her and quirked an eyebrow. "For what?"

She shot him a pointed look. "Really?" she asked dryly. "Do you actually have to ask?"

He reached out and flung an arm over her shoulder, more companionable than anything else. She stiffened at his touch for a second before relaxing. "I didn't do anything you wouldn't do for me."

Bethany smiled at him and leaned against his side as they made their way downwards.

*

It had been two weeks since Bethany had started staying in the clinic with him, and Anders was starting to question the long-term credibility of that plan.

Oh, it wasn't that he didn't enjoy having her there. She didn't have his gift for healing by any means, but she was talented enough to at least handle minor injuries. It was surprising how much of a difference it made, only having to expend mana on the worst wounds or illnesses. For the first time since he had arrived in Kirkwall, Anders actually didn't feel as if he was constantly walking around drained.

No, that wasn't the problem at all. It was the fact that Bethany was always there, day and night, sharing the living quarters that he had partitioned off for himself.

The very, very small living quarters. With only a few feet between the cots that they slept on. And no privacy whatsoever to speak of.

And, well, Bethany was a very attractive young woman. Even if Anders couldn't help but feel a little guilty even having that thought, not just because Hawke would probably kill him if anything actually happened.

Not for the first time, Anders wished that he had the coin to spend on a quick trip to the Blooming Rose. Well, and that Justice wouldn't inevitably spend the entire time complaining if he did do as much. Anders honestly couldn't remember the last time he had gone this long without getting laid, and even a Fade spirit living in his head wasn't enough to make his body be entirely happy with it.

"Anders, are you still awake?"

Anders sighed as quietly as he could, and for a moment he was tempted to pretend to actually be asleep. He wasn't a fool, though. Bethany wouldn't have bothered asking if she didn't know damn well that he was wide awake.

"Did you need something?" he asked, rolling over to look at her.

There was a sliver of light streaming in from somewhere near the top of the room, a crack in the wall or the ceiling most likely. He wasn't entirely certain what was causing the light – a fire, maybe, in the street outside? – but it provided just enough light that he could make out Bethany's form in the shadows.

She didn't reply for a second or two, and Anders almost thought that he'd imagined her question after all. Then she sighed.

Anders frowned at that, pushing himself up into a sitting position. "Bethany?"

She sat up as well, her face hidden in the shadows. He couldn't make out the expression on it, but there was something about her posture that sent a flash of worry down his spine.

"What's wrong?" he asked, pushing his legs off the side of his cot and standing up. The floor was cold under his bare feet, but it only took two strides to get beside her. He knelt down, reaching up to turn her face toward him. "Beth?"

This close, he could see the tear tracks streaming down her face, enough of them that it was clear she'd been crying for some time. He hadn't heard a sound. A pang of guilt hit him, and he couldn't help but wonder just how many times it had happened without him noticing.

"Hey, hey," he said, pulling her into a hug. "What's this all about, sweetheart?"

She shook her head, her face buried in his shirt, but she didn't say anything.

Anders didn't ask again. He just stayed there, letting her cling to him as her body shook with mostly silent sobs. Maybe she missed her mother. Maybe she was worried about her brother and the others from their little group of misfits who had gone to the Deep Roads with him. Maybe demons had been visiting her in the Fade. Maybe it was something else entirely.

It didn't matter, not really. If she needed someone to sit beside her in the middle of the night, who was he to argue? That was what friends were for, after all, and if nothing else he'd like to think that she considered him a friend.

He wasn't entirety certain how long the two of them stayed that way, him kneeling on the floor by her cot while she clung to him. It might have been a few minutes. It might have been an hour. Whatever the case, he had to resist the urge to hold her there when she finally pulled away.

"I'm sorry," Bethany said quietly.

"You don't have anything to be sorry about," Anders replied instantly, reaching out to brush a few of the tears from her face. "We've all been there."

Bethany let out a teary laugh. "You've woken someone up in the middle of the night in order to cry on them?"

Anders's mind flashed back to the Circle in Fereldan, Karl running his fingers through Anders's hair as he buried his face in his chest. Not to mention Vigil's Keep. There had been more than one occasional when Surana had dealt with him having something close to a breakdown on her.

"Yep," he agreed, trying to keep his voice as light as possible. "You can ask the Hero of Fereldan, if you ever meet her. I'm sure Neria would be glad to tell you all of the dirty little details."

Bethany smiled at him, just like he'd hoped that she would. "Still, I'm sorry."

Anders started to protest again, but he changed his mind at the last moment. Instead he just shook his head and gave her another quick hug. "Are you good now?"

"I'm good," she said, nodding. Then she leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, almost at the corner of his mouth. "Thank you, Anders."

*

"Anders!"

The stack of linens that she was holding dropped to the floor as Bethany rushed to the doorway of the clinic, grabbing Anders before he could hit the ground. He grimaced in pain as she grabbed him, his hand pressing tightly against the stab wound in his side.

"What in the Void happened?" she hissed, her hand going down to rest on top of his. "And why haven't you healed it yet?"

Anders grimaced. "Templars," he said. "Smite."

Bethany swore rather vehemently, and Anders couldn't help but raise his eyebrows despite the severity of the situation. "Where did you learn _that_?" he asked.

"My brother," she said shortly, healing energy sparking from her fingertips.

"Really?" he asked. The world was spinning slightly, and Anders closed his eyes to try to fight back the dizziness that was sweeping over him. "I don't think I've ever heard him curse."

A wave of healing energy, powerful but about as subtle as a bludgeon, rushed through his side. Anders hissed in pain.

"My other brother," Bethany said, her voice cracking just a little.

Oh. That made sense, actually. It was easy to forget sometimes that she and Hawke had lost a sibling to the Blight. They didn't speak about him much, after all. It was...

... and then Anders completely lost his train of thought as a wave of pain rushed through his side, followed by a glass vial being shoved in his mouth.

"Drink," Bethany said firmly. "Anders, drink this _now_."

Anders drank more out of habit than anything else. The bitter taste of a healing potion spread over his tongue, and he gagged a little as the thick liquid slipped down his throat. He had always hated the taste of them, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

He lost track of time as the healing potion hit his system. Combined with the sparks of healing energy that Bethany was still pouring into him and his complete lack of mana thanks to that damned templar's smite, his mind shorted out for a long moment. The next thing he was truly aware of, he was leaning against Bethany on the floor of the clinic as she quietly hummed a vaguely familiar song under her breath.

"What's the prognosis, healer?" Anders asked, his voice a little raspier than he'd expected. "Will I live?"

Bethany slapped him.

Oh, he wasn't a complete idiot. He was well aware that she very much pulled her punch, that it was more to prove a point than anything else. But still.

"Ow!" Anders protested, pulling away from her and trying to ignore the twinge in his side that meant the stab wound wasn't completely healed. "What was that for?"

"You almost scared me to death, you ass!" Bethany said, her eyes flashing with anger. Well, anger was one of the things that they were flashing with, at least. There was something else there too, that he couldn't quite make out.

A flash of guilt rushed through him, and Anders wasn't entirely certain whether it was coming from him or Justice. Whatever the case, he gave her the best smile he could.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Or, more precisely, he tried to say it. He'd only managed to make out the first syllable when Bethany grabbed him by the robe and planted a kiss right on his mouth.

His thoughts ground to a halt. Oh. _Oh._

*

"What happened earlier?" Bethany asked curiously. There was no mistaking the hint of iron underlying her casual tone.

Anders flinched, just slightly. "It's nothing for you to—"

"Anders," Bethany said firmly, cutting him off mid-sentence. "What happened?"

Sometimes it was difficult to remember that she was a Hawke. She seemed sweet and innocent so much of the time, the complete opposite of her rather blunt and sarcastic brother. But when it really mattered, there was no denying that they were siblings.

"It's a long story," he said slowly.

Bethany shifted on the cot they were sharing, one of her legs draping over his as she halfway straddled him. Anders's breath caught as one of her hands rested on his inner thigh, tantalizingly close to a much more sensitive part of his anatomy. He pointedly ignored the slight rumble in the back of his head from Justice.

"We have all night," Bethany said lightly. She shifted again, and there was no doubt in Anders's mind that she knew _exactly_ what she was doing.

Anders gave her a weak smile. "You're an evil woman," he said. "Did you know that?"

Bethany grinned at him, and for a moment the resemblance to her brother was uncanny. Then she leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to his chest, her tongue playing with one of his nipples for a moment before she pulled away. "You're not talking."

"Evil," he repeated firmly.

She raised an eyebrow.

There were a thousand and one reasons why Anders shouldn't tell her about the Underground. It would only put her at risk, if she were to get involved. Even if Hawke were to return from the Deep Roads with a fortune – and with every passing day without sign of the expedition, the hope of that seemed to fade more and more – the templars knew about her. The odds of her being allowed to simply return to her everyday life were slim, no matter how much money was involved. The last thing he wanted was to make her life even more difficult.

"Anders," Bethany said warningly.

He sighed. Then again, she had clearly made up her mind, and he doubted he'd be able to dissuade her. She was a Hawke after all.

"In the morning," he said firmly.

Bethany started to pull away, but he reached up and grabbed her before she could. "I promise," he said firmly, "I'll tell you in the morning. It's just—" He hesitated for a moment. "It's something that would be easier to show you."

She shot him a skeptical look, studying his face closely. Then she nodded, albeit with more than a little reluctance.

"In the morning," she agreed.

Then she leaned down and pressed another heated kiss against his mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me over on Tumblr. (http://settiai.tumblr.com/)


End file.
